Schubert handwritten score auctions for $368,000 at Christie's

A Franz Schubert handwritten score has sold for £218,500 ($367,954) at Christie's London.

The 1815 item features the notes for two songs, Die Tauschung and Das Sehnen, and has the added attraction of bearing the Austrian composer's autograph on two occasions.

Schubert was relatively unknown during his lifetime

In more than doubling its £100,000 estimate it led the Valuable Manuscripts and Printed Books auction on May 21.

"This appears to be the original manuscript for both works," says Christie's, explaining the special allure of this lot.

Schubert, who died aged just 32 in 1828, was unheralded during his lifetime, but rose to prominence in the decades that followed. Both tunes contained in the manuscript were only published posthumously.

A one page handwritten section of JS Bach's Ich habe meine Zuversicht church cantata sold for £206,500 ($347,746), just above its £200,000 high estimate.

This was the first time a handwritten Bach (1685-1750) composition had appeared at auction since 1996, ensuring music manuscript collectors fought hard to own the piece.

Its strong showing is even more remarkable considering the top stave shows considerable signs of ink acidification.

The record for a music manuscript stands at £2.1m ($3.5m), set by Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in 2003.

Away from the music scores, a 1776-produced presentation copy of Adam Smith's An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations sold for £182,500 ($307,330) - close to double its £100,000 high estimate.

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